Originally written by Charles H. Spurgeon, published in “Mornings & Evenings,” entry for October 5th, PM.
Updated to modern English by Darren Hewer, 2009.

“Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved” Mark 16:16

The pastor asked the inhabitants of the island of how someone must be saved.

An old man replied, “We will be saved if we repent, and forsake our sins, and turn to God.”

“Yes,” said a middle-aged female, “and with a true heart too.”

“I agree,” answered a third, “and with prayer.” And, added a fourth, “It must be the prayer from the heart.”

“And we must be diligent too,” said a fifth, “and keep the commandments.”

After each had contributed to the discussion, they felt that a decent creed had been compiled. They all turned and waited for the pastor’s approval. But instead they had aroused deep pity in his heart.

The worldly mind always tries to map out a way we can do works and become great, but the Lord’s way is just the opposite. Believing and being baptized aren’t deeds to be gloried in. They are so simple that boasting is impossible, and God deserves all the praise for the free grace He has given.

To believe is simply to trust, to depend, to rely on Christ Jesus. To be baptized is to submit to the ordinance which our Lord fulfilled at Jordan, to which the earliest believers submitted at Pentecost, and to which the jailer obeyed the night of his conversion. The outward sign of baptism does not save, but it encompasses our death, burial, and resurrection with Jesus, and, like the Lord’s Supper, shouldn’t be neglected.

It may be that you are unsaved. What is the reason? Do you think Jesus’ singular path of salvation is unclear? But how can that be when God has given us His own word and His assurance of its clarity? Do you think it is too easy? Why, then, do you not accept and embrace it? Its ease leaves those who choose to neglect it without excuse.

If you are not a believer, then remember there is only one door, and if you will not enter by it you will perish in your sins. But if you do believe in Jesus, then my dear friend, dismiss your fears, for you will surely be saved.

Question: Do we sometimes put too much confidence in our own good works? How can we begin to focus more on God?

“I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question?” Romans 7:24 (The Message)

Have you figured out yet that a lot of times you are your own worst enemy? It’s your own reactions, your own fears, your own inadequacies that cause you to act in foolish ways. I know that’s true for me.

I need to be saved from myself because there are things I don’t like about me – things I wish I had done differently, things I’d like to change. But I can’t change them, not on my own power. I need an outside power source.

You may be saying, “I can change.” I hate to say this, but you can’t. Every year about this time, we make a list of New Year’s resolutions. But, by the end of January, that list will be in the dumpster. Why? Because you can’t change on your own; you need God’s power. You need a Savior, someone who can make the changes you can’t make yourself.

Let me make an important point here: God never wastes energy. He doesn’t waste effort on things that are unnecessary. In other words, if you didn’t need a Savior, he wouldn’t have sent one. The very fact that God sent a Savior means you need one.

The truth is, if you are honest about it, sometimes you feel like your life is out of control. That’s a pretty common feeling. Welcome to the human race!

The apostle Paul felt that way 2,000 years ago. Paul says this in the Bible: “I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does” (Romans 7:24-25, The Message).That’s the answer!

You may be looking for salvation in the wrong places, that’s why you’re frustrated. You’re looking for that one thing that’s going to give you fulfillment and meaning and peace in life.

Some of us think that if we could just get married, or if we could just get a certain job, or a promotion, or attain a certain level of wealth, or have a baby – or if our babies would grow up and graduate! – things would be great.

You’re looking in the wrong places. The answer is not in a place. It’s not in a program or a pill. The answer is a person: Jesus Christ. You were made by God and for God, and until you understand that, life is never going to make sense.

Question: How are we often “our own worst enemies”? How does learning to trust more and more in God alleviate this problem?

About the Author: Rick Warren

Struggling in your marriage? Talk to a mentor.

Join us for our Daily Devotional Chat today in our Women’s Chatroom at 10:30 am EDT.

“No one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ”
(1 Corinthians 3:11).

“We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).

Major construction is taking place at a busy intersection in our city. Cars line up for lengthy waits at the traffic light as heavy earth-moving equipment lumbers by.  Impatient drivers check their watches to see exactly how late they will be for an appointment.  I was one of those annoyed drivers the other day…until I heard God’s still, small voice: “Relax. Look up.”

Previously when I have been reminded in this way, my eyes lift to the beautiful mountains to the west of our city, but this time it seemed like an inappropriate message as all that beauty was hidden by buildings and huge construction machines. But as I glanced upwards, I saw the tall first stage of a towering concrete bridge which will eventually take traffic smoothly through this knotty intersection.

This supporting wall is huge; it appears to rise effortlessly out of the ground. However, we know that skilled engineers have carefully planned just how deep and solid the foundation for such a structure needs to be. Machines and people have dug far into the earth before the concrete was poured. The very thing we cannot see provides the necessary stability for such an undertaking.

In a similar way, our Christian life is fortified by the unseen and foundational work of God’s Holy Spirit. As we read and apply truths of the Bible, live in loving community with other Christians and involve ourselves in caring acts toward others, the foundation of our lives grows ever more solid and sure.

Frequently I look only at what I can see in my life and in the lives of others. Thank you, Father, for being hard at work at what cannot be seen but what provides the strength for all else.  Amen.

Questions: What are the ways that we can allow the Holy Spirit to build a strong foundation in our lives?

About the Author Marilyn J. Ehle

Please open your Bible and read: Colossians 1:9-14.

The most powerful act anyone can perform is to pray for someone. Of course, the power is not in the praying, but in the release God gives in His perfect answer to our prayers. Paul provides an example of one of the most effective prayers we could utter. He prays that the Colossian church:

– May be filled with the knowledge of God’s will. What a wonderful gesture to ask God to make clear for family members or friends the precise, exact decisions He wishes them to make in every circumstance.

– May walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. This means asking that someone’s life will have weight – will count eternally and not temporally.

– May bear fruit in every good work. We should pray for loved ones to remain so Christ – centered that He through them determines their conversation, conduct, and character.

– May increase in the knowledge of God. Can there be a more precious request than that of wanting someone to grow ever closer to our heavenly Father?

– May be strengthened and sustained with the power of God. Within an evil world system, we need the supernatural power of God to help us bear up under the strain.

– May give thanks that we already have qualified as saints of God. There is nothing for which we should be more appreciative.

Question: Which of these prayers resonates most with you today?

About this Author: Charles Stanley

“Because the Lord God helps me, I will not be dismayed; therefore, I have set my face like flint to do his will, and I know I will triumph” Isaiah 50:7

Marvin and I were driving home from a wedding just west of Olympia, Washington. As is our habit when we drive, we began to talk about things that are important to us. This day we were discussing the New Year – goals, resolutions and plans.

Because the previous year had been a year of transition for us, we decided to discuss and re – affirm some of the commitments we had made to God many years ago. What was it we would continue to do with all our hearts and minds and souls? What would we pour our lives into this year?

Here are some of the affirmations we made to God and to each other for the year:

1. We will continue to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul and strength.
2. We will continue serving Him – our aim is to please Him in all of our ways.
3. We will continue to use (read and obey) the Bible as the standard for our lives.
4. We will continue to love and be faithful to each other.
5. We will continue to love and be faithful to our children and grandchildren.
6. We will continue to give our tithes and sacrifices to the Lord.
7. We will continue to work hard and do the best we can to win people around the world to Christ, build them in their faith, train them and send them.
8. We will set our faces like a flint to keep our bodies a fit temple of our Lord, eating less and exercising more.

There were more, but these were the most important to us.

How about you? Do you write out your plans and goals? If not, I encourage you to do so. Keep them in your scheduler, your computer, on your fridge or bedroom mirror so they are always before you.

Question: Do you write out your plans and goals?

About this Author: Katherine Kehler

Originally written by Charles H. Spurgeon, published in “Mornings & Evenings,” entry for October 5th, PM.

Updated to modern English by Darren Hewer, 2009.

“Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved” Mark 16:16

The pastor asked the inhabitants of the island of how someone must be saved.

An old man replied, “We will be saved if we repent, and forsake our sins, and turn to God.”

“Yes,” said a middle-aged female, “and with a true heart too.”

“I agree,” answered a third, “and with prayer.” And, added a fourth, “It must be the prayer from the heart.”

“And we must be diligent too,” said a fifth, “and keep the commandments.”

After each had contributed to the discussion, they felt that a decent creed had been compiled. They all turned and waited for the pastor’s approval. But instead they had aroused deep pity in his heart.

The wordly mind always tries to map out a way we can do works and become great, but the Lord’s way is just the opposite. Believing and being baptized aren’t deeds to be gloried in. They are so simple that boasting is impossible, and God deserves all the praise for the free grace He has given.

To believe is simply to trust, to depend, to rely on Christ Jesus. To be baptized is to submit to the ordinance which our Lord fulfilled at Jordan, to which the earliest believers submitted at Pentecost, and to which the jailer obeyed the night of his conversion. The outward sign of baptism does not save, but it encompasses our death, burial, and resurrection with Jesus, and, like the Lord’s Supper, shouldn’t be neglected.

It may be that yoy are unsaved. What is the reason? Do you think Jesus’ singular path of salvation is unclear? But how can that be when God has given us His own word and His assurance of its clarity? Do you think it is too easy? Why, then, do you not accept and embrace it? Its ease leaves those who choose to neglect it without excuse.

If you are not a believer, then remember there is only one door, and if you will not enter by it you will perish in your sins. But if you do believe in Jesus, then my dear friend, dismiss your fears, for you will surely be saved.

Question: Do we sometimes put too much confidence in our own good works? How can we begin to focus more on God?

About this Author: Charles Spurgeon

Originally written by Charles H. Spurgeon, published in “Mornings & Evenings,” entry for August 5th, AM.

Updated to modern English by Darren Hewer, 2009.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

About some things, believers are absolutely sure. We know, for example, that God sits in the controls of the ship while it navigates the rockiest water. We believe that God’s invisible hand is always on us, and that wherever our world may drift, God is steering it.

This reassuring knowledge should prepare us for everything. We look at the raging water, and see the spirit of Jesus walking the waves. We hear a voice saying, “It is I, be not afraid.” (John 6:20)

We know that God is always wise, and so we are confident that there can be no accidents, no mistakes. Nothing can occur that God is somehow unaware is happening. We can truthfully say, “Even if I lose all I have, it is better that I lose it than have it, if God wills it. The worst calamity is the wisest and the kindest thing that could befall to me if God wills it.” We can say this because “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.”

Christians don’t just believe this as a theory, but instead know it as fact. Everything can work for good, such as when dangerous and deadly drugs, mixed in the right proportions, can become a powerful cure. Believing that God rules all, that He governs wisely, and that He brings good out of evil, our hearts will be assured. You and I are enabled to calmly meet each trial as it comes. Christians can, in the spirit of true surrender, pray, “Send me what you will, my God, so long as it comes from You. Never has there come an ill portion from Your table to any of Your children.”

Remember that God has servants everywhere, His method is holy, His heart profoundly kind, and His timing is always perfect.

Question: How can you think of examples of how God has used things in your life for good, even when the situation seemed bleak?

About this Author: Charles Spurgeon

How To Surprise Your Mayor
Leadership can be lonely. When you’re the mayor, people who talk to you very often want something from you. That’s why Portland, Oregon, Mayor Tom Potter was so surprised when one citizen – a prominent international figure – asked what he and his network of local leaders and activists could do for the mayor and the city. Want to surprise your mayor? Offer to serve! Here’s how Christian speaker Luis Palau led an initiative in his own home town. Read the full article.

Take action: Our online interactive life lesson Steps with Jesus explores what it means to walk with Jesus in your daily life!

You said it: This week Anetra shared on the The God Who Sees women’s devotional, saying “God is challenging me to have faith in Him about my worth and my singleness.” Join the conversation on TheLife.com Devotional for Men and TheLife.com Devotional for Women, each updated daily!

Blog: Tom Hanks on Angels & Demons
“We play fast and loose with an awful lot of fact, but a trickle of authenticity makes it plausible. It’s not important, but it’s fun,” he told the Radio Times. Read more

Devotional: How Big is God?
I tried to imagine how big His hand must be. I couldn’t. Many times the God in our minds is a small God. Read more

Coming up next week: One of the topics of our upcoming online chats is “Honoring Parents” Join us in the chat room May 16^th 2009 @ 12:15pm EST for this chat or see also our full chat calendar for other upcoming topics.